The Journalists Behind the Scores: PN Vishnu and Aachal Maniyar

In most sports stories, the byline is the quietest part of the page. With PN Vishnu, there is nothing quiet about the journey behind that name.

Vishnu has spent close to a decade living on deadlines and scorelines, moving with the rhythm of cricket seasons and football calendars. Now part of the LiveMint Sports team, he handles cricket, football and other major events with the kind of familiarity that only comes from years of watching, writing and arguing about games long after the stadium lights go out.

His route into the press box runs through the Asian College of Journalism in Chennai, where he completed his Post Graduate Diploma in Journalism in 2017. From there, the bylines began to stack up. Deccan Chronicle. Firstpost. A six‑month stint at CricXtasy in 2025. Then, in February 2026, the move to LiveMint.

The assignments have rarely been small. Indian Premier League. Indian Super League. The sort of tournaments that turn nights into mornings for reporters, with every over, every substitution, every tactical tweak needing context and clarity. Along the way, Vishnu has sat across from players such as Yuzvendra Chahal and Dhruv Jurel, turning conversations with India’s cricketers into stories that go beyond the usual post-match clichés.

His fandom runs on two tracks. In the IPL, it’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru. In English football, it’s Manchester United. The loyalties are clear, but the copy stays sharp. That balance between passion and professionalism is what keeps his coverage moving – detailed when it needs to be, blunt when the game demands it.

Away from match reports and analysis pieces, the pace slows. Books, new music, long television binges. The reset button, before the next fixture list takes over.

If Vishnu works in the thick of India’s cricket and football swirl, Aachal Maniyar stands at a crossroads where American arenas, global stadiums and business tickers intersect.

As Senior Content Producer at LiveMint, she leads coverage of US sports, zeroing in on the major leagues, headline events and athlete-driven narratives that dominate the American calendar. NFL storylines, NBA subplots, MLB stretches, all framed with an eye for what matters beyond the box score. Alongside that, she continues to report on cricket and global sports, stitching together a portfolio that moves easily between continents and codes.

Her grounding in journalism is both broad and sharp-edged. A Master’s degree from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication in Pune laid the foundation. The real polish came in busy newsrooms: Thomson Reuters, India TV, BTVI, ET NOW, CNBC TV18. Live news. Breaking updates. Long-form explainers. Studio scripts. On-air anchoring. Each role added another layer to how she builds a story in real time.

That experience shows in the variety of her work. One day it’s a data-backed analysis of a marquee event. The next, an emotionally charged fan narrative or a deep-dive profile. She has sat down with figures as varied as Dhruv Jurel, India women’s hockey captain Savita Punia and industrialist Ratan Tata, turning conversations into pieces that highlight pressure, personality and decision-making under scrutiny.

Her approach is clear: accuracy first, then clarity, then impact. Numbers matter, but never at the expense of the human angle. She looks for the hinge moments – the missed chance, the brave call, the quiet decision that changes a career – and builds the story outward from there.

Between Vishnu and Aachal, LiveMint’s sports desk is anchored by two reporters who understand that sport is never just about who won. It’s about the lives, choices and split-second moments that decide which stories get told, and which careers are remembered.